Tornado’s emotional effects still felt

Friday

Apr 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Although the recovery is far from complete, signs of rebirth are everywhere along the path of the monster tornado that struck Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011, wiping out 12 percent of the city. But the storm damaged much more than buildings and trees. On Saturday, the two-year anniversary of the tornado, just seeing the April 27 date on the calendar could trigger an emotional response.

By Lydia Seabol AvantStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Most of the fallen trees have been cleared and the towering mounds of debris hauled away.The sea of blue tarps is gone, replaced by new roofs.New houses and storefronts stand in places once laid bare by the storm, and others are under construction.Although the recovery is far from complete, to the naked eye, at least, signs of rebirth are everywhere along the path of the monster tornado that struck Tuscaloosa on April 27, 2011, wiping out 12 percent of the city.But the storm damaged much more than buildings and trees. It killed at least 53 people, injured scores more, and left many Tuscaloosans, even those who didn’t lose loved ones or possessions, with psychological scars that could take much longer to heal.On Saturday, the two-year anniversary of the tornado, just seeing the April 27 date on the calendar could trigger an emotional response.“Many of the people who lived through the tornado are very aware of the anniversary coming up,” said Nancy Rubin, a psychologist and professor at the College of Community Health Sciences at the University of Alabama.Rubin treated many people immediately after the tornado and continues to see patients who are feeling the effects, she said. “What people aren’t aware of is that the body very well understands that there is an anniversary coming up and if family members died or there was a loss, there could be stress, unease, or a feeling off balance that could be related to the anniversary.”Everyone responds differently, however. And what works to get a person past such an event as the April 27 tornado varies, Rubin said. “Some people find the honoring of those who died helpful, while for others it’s too painful,” she said. “Some find the images of the tornado help, while for others it’s too painful. People process it differently.”For Rebecca Allen, also a psychology professor at UA, remembering the tornado is important. Allen, who lives in The Downs neighborhood, was in the hallway of her home under a blanket with her dog when the tornado hit. The windows of her home broke, the shattered glass flew under her hallway door. Luckily, she was uninjured and her home was eventually repaired.“I definitely have an anniversary remembrance,” Allen said. Last year, Allen and others in her neighborhood visited over wine and refreshments at the exact time the tornado hit a year earlier. Allen also invited over friends who had helped her in the days and weeks after the storm. But this year, she’s decided to remember the tornado in a different way. “It was important to me to sign up for the Mayor’s Cup (a 5K race that raises money for Tuscaloosa’s pre-kindergarten initiative), to do something positive in remembrance.”While Allen said she is sensitive about the tornado’s two-year mark, it’s something that eases with time.“It’s a normal grief reaction,” Allen said.

Chelsea Thrash was a sophomore at UA when the tornado hit her Charleston Square apartment complex, just a few dozen yards from Allen’s backyard.Thrash had sought shelter in the bathtub of her second story apartment. She said she remembers the cable and power cutting out and the atmospheric pressure changing, then everything went black. When she opened her eyes, she was on her back in the apartment complex’s courtyard, looking up at the sky. She couldn’t move her legs. “I was only thrown maybe 50 to 100 feet, but I was in total shock,” Thrash said. “I attempted to stand up and nothing was happening.”Strangers from nearby found Thrash and tore the legs off her dining room table to create a makeshift stretcher. Thrash suffered a punctured diaphragm, a ruptured spleen and bone fragments in her body. She had to undergo a spinal fusion. Doctors told her parents that she’d likely never walk again.But Thrash said she was too determined to let that happen. She underwent seven months of intensive physical therapy and now she not only walks without any assistance — she’s starting to run again. “Now, I’m great, walking around without any kind of assistance,” Thrash said. “My goal was just to walk one more step than I did before.”Thrash said that the tornado’s two-year mark has “popped up” on her this year, but that she takes tornado watches and weather threats much more seriously than before. “Definitely, certain triggers come to me when I think of the tornado,” Thrash said. “Straight-line winds are what really scare me now, and trigger memories. I also definitely invested in a weather radio, and it’s always on. I’m more alert on the forecast.”

Healthy ways to get past painful anniversaries and memories of disasters like the April 27 tornado include making sure to meet individual needs, such as getting enough sleep, eating well and exercising, Allen said. Rubin agreed. “There are the basics — to take care of yourself, eat right, exercise, stay connected to supportive people, and also be aware of what helps you and what doesn’t help,” she said.For some people talking about the event helps, writing or remembering what happened in a positive way. Still, some people need professional help through counseling to get through it, said Larry Deavers, executive director of the Family Counseling Service. Soon after the storm, the Family Counseling Service began offering free counseling to those affected by the tornado and has continued to offer that service with grants from the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama and through funding from the United Way.In total, the counselors at the service have given more than 700 counseling sessions for tornado relief since April 2011. Counselors are also sent to Davis Emerson School in Cottondale to help students who may have lived in affected areas.“What we are seeing now are people who are having effects from the tornado but didn’t initially realize it was because of the tornado — stress in a marriage, children’s behavior, and financial burdens,” Deavers said. “We are still seeing people (seeking counseling) because of the tornado, but most of the time they are recognizing the indirect effects and how it really applied stress to their lives.”A person cannot go through such an event that displaces thousands of people, wipes out a part of town or kills a loved one and not be significantly impacted for a long period of time, Deavers said. People can still be impacted by the storm in less obvious ways, such as marital problems and divorce. “Some people are just now realizing that they can’t deal with the stress on their own,” Deavers said. It’s important that, if affected, people take care of themselves but also be open to the idea of counseling if needed, he said.“At this point, if you are having effects from the tornado, a divorce, loss of a loved one, displacement, people are probably aware of it and it’s just an ongoing chronic awareness,” Deavers said. “There is always room for counseling to help people process that and help them move on.”